PRELIMINARY REPORT ON SPIDER ASSEMBLAGE FORM THE PASTURES AND FIELDCROPS OF THE
MURES RIVER FLOODPLAIN
loan Duma
Introduction.
Spiders (Araneae) are the most diverse group of predators in the world with 111 Families, 3879 Genera and 43244 described species (Platnick 2012). In spite of the rapid advance in spider taxonomy in the case of many species our knowledge is limited to their description. Very little is known about their biology, ecology, distribution.
The present study is aiming to identify spider assemblages present in different types of habitats found along the Mures River floodplain and to asses if human activities, especially those from the agricultural fields are affecting the spider fauna composition at local level. It is known that spiders are effective predators contributing in the control of many insect species, so their importance to the ecosystem is high (Nyffeler and Benz 1987). However many studies show that they may be susceptible to different chemicals used in the agriculture (Huusela- Veistolal998) while spider associations are sensible to the changes made in their habitat (Lubin et al. 2011).
Material and Methods.
The flood plain of Mures River is situated in western Romania close to the border with Hungary. The region has a temperate climate with an average yearly rainfall of about 700 mm and average yearly temperatures of 11.5 °C (Atlasul Climatologic al Republicii Socialiste Romania).
From the biogeographic point of view the study area fits into two regions:
Pannonic (between Szeged and around Arad) and continental (the area that is close to Lipova town and Mures River Gorge).
Along the most of its length, the habitats along the studied section of the Mures River are deeply affected by agriculture practices of all kinds: from cattle rising, to field crops and invasive new plant species.
The spiders were collected with the most common method: pitfall traps.
These were put in soil and filled with Ethylene glycol. The pitfalls were set in
batteries of 5, placed five meters apart. They were covered with a plastic lid and
verified once a month from April to August 2012. The material was then collected
and stored in 70% alcohol.
The pitfall traps were set in the following types of habitat: 1) Not grazed pasture (semi natural pasture); 2) Grazed pasture; 3) Wheat field; 4) Marsh.
For identification of the specimens we used the online spider identification key provided so kindly by Wolfgang Nentwig, Theo Blick, Daniel Gloor, Ambros Hanggi & Christian Kropf.
Results
We have found 122 species belonging to 19 families (table 1). That is almost 12% of the total number of spider species recorded so far from Romania.
From the zoogeographical point of view the spider assemblages found within the study site fit well into the Panonian and Continental bioregions. The great majority of the species collected are Palearctic (83), these are followed by Holarc- tic species (16), European to Central Asia species (12) and European ones (10).
The natural pasture was so far the richest habitat with 69 species. The grazed pasture had 43 species, the marsh 39 species, and the most affected by the human activity was the arable land with only 12 species.
Table. 1. The enumeration of spider species found at the floodplain of the Mures river, their known distribution and habitats in which each species was found. .
T „„ r,. . ., Natural Grazed Wheat ., , Taxon Distribution _ , „ , _ , , Marsh
Pasture Pasture field Atypidae
1. Atypus muralis Bertkau, 1890 Central Europe x
to Central Asia Mimetidae
1. Ero aphana (Walckenaer, 1802) Palearctic x x 2. Ero tuberculata (De Geer, 1778) Palearctic x Uloboridae
* 1. Uloborus plumipes Lucas, 1846
2. Uloborus walckenaerius (Latreille, 1806)
Theridiidae
1. Anelosimus vittatus (C.L.Koch.
1836)
2. Crustulina guttata (Wider, 1834)
3. Cryptachaea riparia (Blackwall 1834)
Old World Palearctic
Palearctic Palearctic ' Palearctic
_ _. ., . Natural Grazed Wheat , , , Taxort Distribution „ , _ _ ,, Mara/7
Pasture Pasture jiela , , Europe-north
4. Dipoena melanogaster . x x .
(C.L.Koch, 1837) V u " -
v ' Azerbaijan
5. Enoplognatha ovata (Clerck, H o l a r c t i c x x 6. Enoplognatha thoracica (Hahn, j_[0|a r c tjc x
1833)
7. Episinus truncatus Latreille, „ .
1809 Palearctic x 8. Heterotheridion Palearctic x nigrovariegatum (Simon, 1873)
9. Neottiura bimaculata (Linnaeus, T IHolarctic . x x x
10. Neottiura suaveolens (Simon, „ n .
l g 7 9^ Europe, Russia x x 11. Simitidion simile (C.L.Koch, TT .
1836) H 0 l a r C t l C
12. Theridion pictum (Walckenaer, p j0ja r c tjc x
13. Theridion pinastri L.Koch, P a l e a r c t i c x x
1872
14. Theridion uhligi (Martin 1974) Europe x
*Theridiosomadidae
* Theridiosoma gemmosum (L. h 1 ti x
Koch, 1877) ° arC 1C
Linyphiidae
1. Acartauchenius scurrilis (O.P.- „ ,
* . j Palearctic x Cambridge, 1872)
2- Agyneta subtilis (O.P.- paie arctic x Cambridge, 1863)
3. Bathyphantes approximatus p „.„„.• x
(O.P.-Cambridge, 1871) Palearctic
4. Bathyphantes setiger O.P.- P f l|p a r r f lr x
Cambridge, 1894
5. Centromerus sylvaticus Holarctic (Blackwall, 1841)
6. Ceratinella brevis (Wider, paie arctic x x
Taxon Distribution Natural Pasture
Grazed Pasture
Wheat . _ , . Marsh field
7. Dicymbium nigrum (Blackwall,
1834) Palearctic X
8. Diplostyla concolor (Wider,
1834) Holarctic X
9. Erigone dentipalpis (Wider,
1834) Holarctic X X X
10. Gnathonarium dentatum
(Wider, 1834) Palearctic X 11. Gongylidium rufipes
(Linnaeus, 1758) Palearctic Palearctic X 12. Labulla thoracica (Wider,
1834) Europe, Russia X X
13. Linyphia hortensis Sundevall,
1830 Palearctic X
14. Linyphia triangularis (Clerck,
1757) Palearctic X
15. Macrargus rufus (Wider,
1834) Palearctic X
16. Mansuphantes arciger
(Kulczynski, 1882) Europe X 17. Mansuphantes mansuetus
(Thorell, 1875) Palearctic X 18. Maso sundevalli (Westring,
1851) Holarctic X
19. Meioneta rurestris (C.L.Koch,
Palearctic x x X 1836) Palearctic
20. Micrargus apertus (O.P.-
Cambridge, 1871) Palearctic X 21. Nematogmus sanguinolentus
(Walckenaer, 1842) Palearctic X 22. Neriene clathrata (Sundevall,
1830) Holarctic. X
23. Neriene peltata (Wider, 1834) Palearctic,
Greenland X 24. Oedothorax agrestis
(Blackwall, 1853) Palearctic X X 25. Oedothorax apicatus
(Blackwall, 1850) Palearctic X X X
^ . Natural Grazed Wheat ., , Taxon Distribution „ „ _ , , Marsh Pasture Pasture field 1834). • "
27. Pelecopsis radicicola (L.Koch, D , .
1872) Palearctic 28. Porrhomma pallidum Jackson, D .
j g j 2 Palearctic x
29. Pelecopsis parallela (Wider,
1834) Palearctic *
30. Prinerigone vagans (Audouin, World x x
1826)
3LTapinocyba affinis Lessert, P a l e a r c t i c x
32. Tapinocyba biscissa (O.P.- „ . .
Cambridge, 1872) Palearctic 33. Tenuiphantes alacris _ .
(Blackwall, 1853) Palearctic
34. Trichoncus affinis Kulczynski, pa[e a r c tjc x
1894
35. Walckenaeria acuminata _ ,
r.1 1 1, , o « Palearctic x Blackwall, 1833
36. Walckenaeria alticeps (Denis, „ T
1 9 5 2^ ^ Europe, Iran x 37. Walckenaeria capito TT .
. . Holarctic x (Westnng, 1861)
38. Walckenaeria monoceros Europe,
(Wider, 1834) Kyrgystan Tetragnathidae
1. Tetragnatha montana Simon, .
j palearctic x
2. Pachygnatha degeeri Sundevall, p j0]a r c tjc x
1830 Araneidae
1. Araneus angulatus Clerck, 1757 Palearctic x x 2. Araneus quadratus Clerck, 1757 Palearctic x x x 3. Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, _ . Palearctic
x x
4. Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, P a l e a r c t i c x x
1- .. ... Natural Grazed Wheat . , , Taxott Distribution „ „ _ ,, Marsh
Pasture Pasture field
5. Hypsosinga heri (Hahn, 1831) Palearctic x
6. Hypsosinga sanguinea Pfliparr,ir x
(C.L.Koch, 1844) Palearctic Lycosidae
1. Alopecosa trabalis (Clerck, Europe, Central
1757) Asia 2. Aulonia albimana (Walckenaer, _ .
1805) P a l e a r C t l C
3. Hogna radiata (Latreille, 1817)
Ï Pardosa agrestis (Westring, p a l e a r c t i c
5. Pardosa alacris (C.L.Koch, „ _
1833) Europe, Russia x 6. Pardosa hortensis (Thorell, _ .
l g 7 2^ v Palearctic x x 7. Pardosa lugubris (Walckenaer, D .
1802) Palearctic x
8. Pirata knorri (Scopoli, 1763) Palearctic x 9. Pirata latitans (Blackwall, „ .
184!) Palearctic 10. Trochosa robusta (Simon, „ .
1876) P a l e a r C t l C
Pisauridae
1. Dolomedes fimbriatus (Clerck, n .
v Palearctic x
2. Pisaura mirabilis (Clerck, 1757) Palearctic x x x Oxyopidae
1. Oxyopes heterophthalmus _ .
/t . .„ 1 0 A / 1. F Palearctic x (Latreille, 1804)
Zoridae
1. Zora silvestris Kulczynski, 1897 Central x
2. Zora spinimana (Sundevall, _ .
1 8 3 3^ y v Palearctic x x
3. Zora sp. x
, ., . Natural Grazed Wheat . , , Taxon Distribution „ _ _ , ~ ,, Marsh
Pasture Pasture field
1. Malthonica campestris Europe, x
(C.L.Koch, 1834) Azerbaijan 2. Malthonica ferruginea (Panzer,
1804) Europe, Azores , ^ Europe, Central 3. Tegenaria agrestis (Walckenaer, AsiaNorth
1802) .
' America4. Tegenaria silvestris (L.Koch, _ _
l g 7 2° Europe, Russia Clubionidae
1. Clubiona genevensis L.Koch, palearctic 1866
2. Clubiona subsultans Thorell, _ .
1875 P a l e a r C t l C
Zodariidae
1. Zodarion rubidum Simon, 1914 Europe Gnaphosidae
1. Micaria dives (Lucas, 1846) Palearctic 2. Micariaformicaria (Sundevall, D .
1831) Palearctic 3. Micaria fulgens (Walckenaer, D .
1802) Palearctic 4. Zelotes latreillei (Simon, 1878) Palearctic
5. Zelotes sp. 1 6. Zellotes sp. 2 Philodromidae
1. Philodromus aureolus (Clerck, paje a r c tjc
2. Philodromus cespitum TT .
i i lonoC Holarctic (Walckenaer, 1802)
3. Philodromus poecilus (Thorell, D .
1872) Palearctic 4. Thanatuspictus L. Koch, 1881 Palearctic
5. Tibellus maritimus (Menge, D ,
1875) Palearctic Thomisidae
1. Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757) Holarctic 2. Ozyptila praticola (C.L.Koch, Holarctic
3. Ozyptila scabricula (Westring, .
1851) mearctic
T n- .. J. Natural Grazed Wheat . . , Taxon Distribution _ „ _ , , Marsh Pasture Pasture field 1837)
3. Ozy 1851)
4. Synema globosum (Fabricius, . Palearctic 5. Tmarus piger (Walckenaer, D .
1802) Palearctic 6. Xysticus audax (Schrank, 1803) Palearctic
7. Xysticus ferrugineus Menge, P aie a r c tic
8. Xysticus lanio C.L.Koch, 1835 Palearctic 9. Xysticus ulmi (Hahn, 1831) Palearctic
Salticidae
1. Ballus chalybeius (Walckenaer, EuroPe>North ,g 0 2, Africa, Central
Asia 2. Carrhotus xanthogramma D .
(Latreille, 1819) Palearctic 3. Evarcha falcata (Clerck, 1757) Palearctic
4. Heliophanus auratus C.L.Koch, _ .
1835 raiearctic 5. Heliophanus cupreus _ .
(Walckenaer, 1802) Palearctic 6. Leptorchestes berolinensis Europe,
(C.L.Koch, 1846) Turkmenistan 7. Marpissa nivoyi (Lucas, 1846) Palearctic
8. Myrmarachne formicaria (De D .
Geer, 1778) Palearctic 9. Pellenes nigrociliatus (Simon, paie a r c tjc
10. Sitticus distinguendus (Simon, D .
1868) Palearctic
11. Sitticus zimmermanni (Simon, Europe, Central1877) Asia 12. Sitticus saxicola (C.L.Koch, _ . . j raiearctic 1846) 13. Synageles hilarulus (C.L.Koch, D .
. n. r alcarctic 1846)
Discussion
The present study has revealed that human disturbances in habitats are seriously affecting the spider community and species richness. In present study it was found that the most affected type of habitat was the wheat field which had the most severe vegetation cover change. In contrast the semi natural pasture was found to be the richest with 69 spider species.
Although the study region was located in two very well studied bioregions:
Pannonian and Continental, the faunistical list revealed some novelties at least for Romania. Among the novelties that the present study brings are one new family of spiders for Romania: Theridiosomatidae, with a very rare species:
Theridiosoma gemosum and another, this time invasive species which seems to be
spreading towards east: Uloborus plumipes Lucas, 1846.
Conclusions
The present study shows that human activities are disrupting the spider assemblages and richness and so are interfering with one of the most important group of invertebrate predators that serve as pest control (Maloney et al. 2003).
By reducing the number of spider species and richness the agriculture is deprived of one of the most important factors that control the herbivorous insect populations and so makes it more dependent on chemical alternatives.
The present study reveals that Romanian spider fauna has a new Spider Family: Theridiosomatidae with a new species: Theridiosoma gemosum. Also the Family Uloboridae with only two species (Weiss and Urak 2000) gets a third one:
Uloborus plumipes a species that seems to spread eastwards. With this new record
Romania is the eastern limit of the species in Europe.
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•••Atlasul Climatologie al Republicii Socialiste România 1966: Comitetul de Stat al Apelor, Institutul Meteorologie, Bucureçti.
